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Uber Lost $800 Million In Third Quarter (cnbc.com)

According to a report from The Information (Warning: paywalled), Uber has lost more than $800 million in the third quarter. CNBC reports: The results, The Information reported, put Uber on pace to record an 25 percent steeper operating loss than last year, of at least $2.8 billion in 2016, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Despite steep results from one of the world's most valuable start-ups, these results would have been worse if not for a one-time windfall thanks to the sale of Uber's China business to Didi Chuxing, The Information reported. On the bright side, Uber's revenue is skyrocketing, and its rate of losses slowed from the prior quarter, The Information said. Still, the report comes as Uber's multi-billion dollar valuation has come under scrutiny from those who say its business model depends on subsidies and faces looming battles over regulation.

1 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Operating profit/loss by jbrown.za · · Score: 3, Informative

    Do you know much about accounting.

    Yes

    Yes the sale of Uber's China's business would be included.

    No it would not. The proceeds of a once off event like selling a subsidiary should not be included in OPERATING profit/loss, which is the $2.8 billion the article refers to. It will however be included in the NET profit/loss.

    The CNBC article heading states "Despite China windfall, Uber on pace for 'unprecedented' losses, report says". The word "despite" implies that the operating loss was incurred even though they received a windfall from the sale of the Chinese unit. This is misleading ...

    I have done a bit of digging since seeing this and have found that they did in fact make a $2.2 billion NET PROFIT for the quarter, as a result of the sale. Also the rate at which their losses are increasing has slowed because the Chinese unit is no longer contributing to those losses. The CNBC article doesn't make this very clear.